Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY Makes New Investment in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. $KTOS

Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY bought a new position in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 698,800 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,842,000. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions makes up approximately 0.9% of Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the second quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the second quarter worth $34,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions during the second quarter worth $65,293,000. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the second quarter worth $296,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions by 4.0% in the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 72,660 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,623,000 after acquiring an additional 2,808 shares in the last quarter. 75.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Price Performance

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock opened at $53.07 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.96 billion, a PE ratio of 312.18 and a beta of 1.08. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has a 52 week low of $43.09 and a 52 week high of $134.00. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.23. The company has a quick ratio of 4.99, a current ratio of 5.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The aerospace company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $458.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $410.36 million. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 3.07%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.11 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. will post 0.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Marie Mendoza sold 1,513 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.37, for a total transaction of $97,391.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 61,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,989,395.12. This trade represents a 2.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider David M. Carter sold 4,000 shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.90, for a total value of $223,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 62,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,479,048.30. This represents a 6.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 430,688 shares of company stock valued at $26,859,642. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KTOS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $134.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $115.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price objective on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.47.

About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc (NASDAQ: KTOS) is a technology-driven company that specializes in national security and defense solutions for government and military customers. The firm’s core capabilities span unmanned systems, satellite communications, missile defense, cyber security, and directed-energy weapons. Through its integrated approach, Kratos delivers mission-critical products and services designed to enhance operational readiness and support force modernization initiatives.

In the unmanned systems arena, Kratos develops high-performance aerial platforms used as target drones, low-cost attritable aircraft and experimental stealth demonstrators.